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Hey, just realized I forgot to blog for Friday. A quick one, because I’m Cinderella-fying myself for the big dance tonight, and brother, that’s a long-term process at my age.

For those keeping score at home: I have just removed unwanted leg and pit hair and moisturized heavily. Next step: Nails.

I’ve also been following internet worm holes on human trafficking hysteria. With the auto show in town, the usual suspects are claiming their share of the spotlight, spewing questionable data and offering such helpful tips as: Watch for situations that just don’t seem right.

See, this is predicated on the extremely shaky contention that any large group of people descending on a city for an event – Super Bowl, Final Four, auto show – will lead to a “spike” in human trafficking, specifically sex trafficking, but I bet you knew that. These press conferences aren’t to draw attention to domestic servants who are essentially held prisoner in their employers’ basement, but to give the local TV stations a chance to break out their whores-on-the-stroll video with the faces pixelated out. Anyway, I think the contention is shaky because so far, no one has ever produced any evidence other than this: Sex-service classifieds on sites like Backpage spike around that time.

This week, I tried to test it. To be sure, there are a lot of Backpage sex ads right now. But the ads drop off sharply after they’ve been up a day or two, and I’m not sure why. I also don’t have a control group from a non-auto show week. I tweeted a thread about this yesterday:

So I've been trying to fact-check the oft-repeated #humantrafficking claim that the sex trade goes into overdrive around large events. (Thread, I guess.)

Any of you with experience in this area, feel free to private-message me via email or the channel of your choice. I’m genuinely curious.

Earlier this week, the police and some HT advocates held a presser that advised the public to BOLO (be on the lookout, in the cop lingo) for trafficked women at the show. They also said they made 22 arrests last year “tied to” the show, and apparently no one asked for more detail. So are girls, what? Working the floor? I find that hard to believe. Outside of Cobo? Ditto. Almost all prostitution is online now, anyway, so I don’t know how the public might see one of these women in the first place. Then there’s this:

Last year, police made 22 arrests for human trafficking that were tied to the auto show, Craig said. Some cases are still being investigated.

The chief anticipates there will be more reports at this year’s show, which runs through Jan. 28. Sex traffickers often go to major events that attract large crowds to find their victims, Craig said.

Craig emphasized that sex trafficking is much different from prostitution because trafficking means the person is held against their will.

Wait, what? Prostitution cases being investigated for a year? And what is he saying in the second paragraph there? That pimps are trolling the crowd for girls? Has anyone actually been to this show? The public week is hardly a magnet for young women traveling alone — it’s families, couples, and lots of guys. Is he pushing the “Taken” myth here? Oh, and trafficking vs. prostitution, he’s wrong there. He just is.

When I wrote about HT a couple years ago, one of my sources told me that, in terms of understanding the problem, we were about where we were with understanding domestic violence – in 1979.

It’s an interesting topic. I wish we had better data.

OK, on to the nails. I’ll have a photo roundup of the action tonight Sunday/Monday. Be good, all.

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54 responses to “BOLO.”

For an instant I read “Cinderella-fying” as “Cinderella-frying” and thought, WTF? Is she seriously into tanning beds?

Just stalling before I get to the hard work of transcribing three interviews.

As for human trafficking, I can only offer the obvious observation that there’s a salacious element there that you don’t find with stories about, say, intellectual property rights, so there’s a bigger temptation to rush into print or on the air with less substance.

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Charlotte said on January 19, 2018 at 12:16 pm

If you ever want a source, I have an aunt in San Francisco who works with women who have been trafficked (she’s also a lefty nun). I can get you in touch if you want.

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alex said on January 19, 2018 at 12:25 pm

What does Snopes say about it? I’ve always thought it sounded suspect, like the Super Bowl flushing story, except when reported in connection with GOP presidential conventions.

Suzanne at 102 from last thread, see 110 at last thread.

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beb said on January 19, 2018 at 12:28 pm

I think there was a chapter in Super-Freakonomics about prostitution in Chicago. The big takeaway for me was that during the family reunion season (summer) a lot of women would hook for spare change but didn’t do it for a lively and didn’t think of themselves as hookers. A bigger question is when did prostitution become human trafficking?

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Deborah said on January 19, 2018 at 12:44 pm

Now I want to know what the Super Bowl flushing story is?

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alex said on January 19, 2018 at 12:57 pm

During the ads, entire cities lose water pressure because of people pissing.

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nancy said on January 19, 2018 at 1:44 pm

Alex, the few times you’ve put me on to A.E.’s Facebook I’ve been jaw-drop appalled by the shit that idiot apparently believes. That is one apple tree you don’t want to stand near.

Beb, human trafficking is defined as labor compelled via force, fraud or coercion. So a sex worker who freely decides to become a hooker is not engaging in sex trafficking, but the boyfriend who encourages his girl to turn tricks to make money for both of them is.

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nancy said on January 19, 2018 at 2:04 pm

Oh, and one Super Bowl — Bears vs. somebody; it was the Super Bowl Shuffle year — I sat at the water plant with the incredibly nerdy director, watching the gauges and game simultaneously. The upshot: There was definitely more water use during commercial breaks, but at no point did the pressure drop so much that anyone would notice it in their service.

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Deborah said on January 19, 2018 at 3:35 pm

Snopes says the Super Bowl flushing story, to the extent that damage is caused is false.

Walking back from the loop area earlier, saw a guy running like hell, then another guy following with a jacket that said “staff”, then a crying woman flying after them and another guy following her, I think it was a purse snatching. A bunch of us were stopped cold on the sidewalk watching the action. I over heard one person say, “this city is a shithole”.

I’m going to the march in Chicago tomorrow. It’s actually my birthday, and while it’s not my first choice of things to do, hopefully it will be as uplifting as it was last year.

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Joe Kobiela said on January 19, 2018 at 3:58 pm

Road tripping to Milwaukee Saturday, moving the youngest to Shorwood up on the Northside, she accepted a job as a systems librarian at Marquette University so it good by Ohio Northern Polar bears and hello Marquette Golden Eagles, 5hr drive but in good weather only about 90 minutes in the Piper Warrior. Its a really pretty flight right up the lake front, hang out your Gold Coast window, Deb and I promise I’ll wave going by. 🙂
Pilot Joe

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Scout said on January 19, 2018 at 4:03 pm

The Phoenix event is on Sunday. YES, I’m going, and taking a whole bunch of friends with me! I hope it’s as well attended as last year’s march. I wish we could post pictures right on our posts, I’d show you the signs my friend and I made last night!

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Suzanne said on January 19, 2018 at 4:07 pm

Alex, is that woman any relation to Eckrich meat family? I looked at her Twitter stuff. Now I am depressed because I know too many people who think like that. “Why shut down the government to protect some illegals? If those people had stayed in their own country, there wouldn’t be any need for this Dreamer stuff.” Good night Irene. Eckrich also sounds mighty German to me. Hummmmm. Might there be some immigration in her background?

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Deborah said on January 19, 2018 at 4:13 pm

Kanye and Kim named their new kid Chicago, a girl. Why? Who cares.

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Deborah said on January 19, 2018 at 4:17 pm

Why are some cities marching on Sunday and some on Saturday? Seems like to make the most impact they should all be on the same day. But what do I know?

Joe, watch out when you go around that curve on Lake Shore Drive near my building, lots of accidents.

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David C. said on January 19, 2018 at 4:57 pm

Like Alex @ 3 said. I still want to believe it for the Republican National Convention because Lurleen just doesn’t understand that Cletus has needs.

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LAMary said on January 19, 2018 at 5:23 pm

They could have named the baby Sheboygan or Macungie or Ho-ho-kus. But no. It had to be Chicago, Kanye’s home town.

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alex said on January 19, 2018 at 5:33 pm

Suzanne, she was married to an Eckrich, but she’s a snooty patootie in her own right. New England boarding schools growing up, that sort of thing. I always assumed her right-wing politics were as phony as the rest of her society matron affectations, but obviously it runs deeper than that.

Deborah, I always thought that more kids should be named after Wisconsin towns and cities – Sheboygan, Racine, Kenosha, Madison, Monroe, Oshkosh, Eau Claire. Maybe not Oconomowoc, Wisconsin Rapids, Green Bay, and Prairie de Chien….

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Bitter Scribe said on January 19, 2018 at 8:41 pm

If those people had stayed in their own country, there wouldn’t be any need for this Dreamer stuff.

Yeah, they should have had the integrity to tell their parents not to take them across the border. Being 3 years old at the time is no excuse.

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Julie Robinson said on January 19, 2018 at 8:52 pm

Oh Lordy, my mother said the same thing about Dreamers this afternoon. She’s been sick for two weeks and it’s brought out the ugly in her. She said the parents needed to go back to Mexico with their children.

Next she went on a rant about a story in the paper re a couple who had gotten a new house though a charity. Not married, she said. How do you know? Does the story say that? Lots of women keep their own names, I said. The woman is 25 and her oldest child is 9, she said. Maybe that is his child, you know these days lots of men get custody, I said. And on and on. It was not a good day.

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Joe Kobiela said on January 19, 2018 at 9:36 pm

If ya’ll want to get a sneak peek at Ms.Nall check out her face book page.
Looking pretty Foxy.
Pilot Joe

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Deborah said on January 19, 2018 at 9:39 pm

In all fairness I should say that LB’s real name is after a river and city in Germany, long story how she got that name, so I guess it’s not that odd how you could name your daughter Chicago.

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susan said on January 19, 2018 at 10:01 pm

I think Prairie de Chien would be a fine name. I know a young woman whose name is Prairie Rose.

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Suzanne said on January 19, 2018 at 10:58 pm

I started watching Fox as the votes came in that didn’t forestall the government shutdown. They covered it briefly and then started talking about conspiracies behind the Las Vegas shooter. One of the “experts” is Mark Fuhrmann of OJ fame. Clearly, according to Fox, it’s not just some nut with a gun. It’s probably an ISIS terrorist.

Today I heard the talk about how Fox is quaking over the possibility the SuperBowlBigGame featuring Jacksonville and Minnesota, thinking the numbers will drop. Then a discussion (XM Radio talk show, not sports channel) arose as to the difference which teams make it to the BigGame, because it is the BigGame, and even non-sports people watch it, attending parties, or just partying at home or alone. Before the teams advance, sure, fans want popular big-market cities to be involved, but on game day, will it make any difference? The NFL is losing viewers anyway…lots of empty seats in Pittsburgh I heard (is that right, Dorothy?), and a noticeable drop came from the kneeling issue, which I heard is just done-gone-over now…again, I don’t know because I always wait until kickoff to watch games.

Cars… I have reported I decided to just pay cash for an older van than go into deep debt for a new one. Friday I had to drive to the Defiance Spectrum store to get a new higher-speed modem as part of an upgrade I signed up for. At a drive-through fast food place (Capt. D’s) I noticed I had a headlight out, so I drove to Walmart in Bryan, not even spotted by the constantly present OH State PoPos, right at 3 minutes before closing. The young man said “oh sure, no problem…” and he ran for the new light, got a few tools and a mag-light and bing-bang-boom he had it done…6 minutes flat. I paid him and I was gone…and I was impressed at that kid’s attitude and his going out of his way, working a few minutes past closing to help out an old geezer.
My Spectrum bill went up again so I called demanding a new plan, and I got 6 more film channels, faster (like WAY faster internet speed) and get this…a $70 dollar monthly bill reduction. Glory glory hallelujah.

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Deborah said on January 20, 2018 at 6:21 am

LB’s name is Jena, pronounced Yay-nah (sort of) but nobody ever says it that way so a long time ago we were resigned to pronouncing it Jen-nah. Most people spell it Jenna.

Now I’ve outed her real name. But some of you here know her as Jena on FB.

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basset said on January 20, 2018 at 8:36 am

OK, that’s it. I give up. You really and truly could not make this up, and we are in an even more unbelievable alternate reality than we thought:

We’re doing the march in Chicago today with a large number of friends. This march is tied to the first Women’s March last year and will march from Grant Park to the Federal Building.

On Sunday in Chicago, there is a separate gathering focused more on the Orange King’s racist policies. That group will be assembling in the shadow of the tRump Tower. Different group altogether from the Saturday group.

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adrianne said on January 20, 2018 at 10:28 am

Good luck to everyone marching today! Even though the weather in the Hudson Valley is near-perfect for late January, I’m not going to New York City. Laying low for the day, but I’m with y’all in spirit.

Nance, looking forward to Autoprom pix.

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Jakash said on January 20, 2018 at 2:34 pm

The one benefit of our Maximum Leader always running his mouth (and thumbs) all the time is the truly remarkable way in which there’s a self-owning tweet or clip for *so* many situations that arise. Today’s example:

2011: “I hear the Democrats are going to be blamed and the Republicans are going to be blamed. I actually think the President would be blamed. If there is a shutdown, I think it would be a tremendously negative mark on the President of the United States.”

Just back from the Chicago March and they’re saying that 300,000 people participated this year. It certainly seemed that many to me. Exceeding last year which was estimated at 250,000. I was a little worried that there wouldn’t be many people because I didn’t think it was publicized that well. I was wrong, obviously.

My favorite protest signs:
I’ve seen better cabinets at IKEA
This is my resisting bitch face
There were lots and lots of other signs but those two made me laugh.

Coming home from the march in Chicago. Bigger than last year. Official estimates are more 300,000 attended and I believe it.

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Heather said on January 20, 2018 at 5:51 pm

Great march in Chicago. I think my favorite signs were a mockup of Mueller as a saint, with robes and a halo, etc., and a Muslim man with a sign, “Allah wants me to be a feminist.” It’s also my birthday, so the whole thing was very uplifting.

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Carter Cleland said on January 20, 2018 at 6:18 pm

I too went down to the March, and it was great. Favorite signs include: Don’t Fuck With Planned Parenthood, Don’t Fuck Without Planned Parenthood; Shut the Fuck Up, Donnie!; Payback is a Bitch, and She Votes; Let’s Address the Elephant in the Womb; and…this is kinda gross – a picture of Il Douche with a bubble that reads: I Don’t Always Use Mouthwash, But When I do, it’s FLEET.
Happy Birthday, Heather, I was standing by that guy with the saintly Mueller poster for nearly an hour.

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Bitter Scribe said on January 20, 2018 at 7:22 pm

Basset @ 32: Bette Midler had the best line about that: Trump paid to literally kiss his own ass.

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Dexter said on January 21, 2018 at 2:37 am

Impressive numbers out in the streets across the land, from sea to shining sea. Were any counters out and about, like the assholes who, years ago, told HRC to stay home and bake cookies? I remember when the USA flag was drawn into protests; NYC construction steelworkers began waving and hoisting Old Glory to support Nixon, the VN war, and every damn right-wing political cause known to man and woman. For years, Old Glory was commandeered by those bastards, before at least some groups set the record straight that the flag did not stand for genocidal American invasion-wars and pro-life wackos.
And now it’s Day Two of government shutdown, another feather in the cap of the stuck-in-shit US President, who can’t even negotiate a deal. They used to call this crap ear-marking , not passing anything without attaching a dozen other deals to the main goal. The name calling on both sides is tiresome…finally, I will say I do appreciate Chuck Schumer’s stand against Trump’s ridiculousness.

Nancy, that was Super Bowl XX January 26, 1986 when the Bears beat the New England Patriots. I wasn’t into spectator sports back then so I’m like one of 10 people in Chicago who didn’t watch it. As my punishment I became a die hard Bears fan as they team started to stink in the mid 90s. oh well.

An aunt, who was born in a work camp in Germany and brought here by my grandmother, shared a right-wing meme asking why Dreamers who have been here 15/20 years haven’t applied for citizenship in all that time. Aunt added her line that she did when she was born here legally. Even her conservative friends railed on her for her ignorance. She finally took the post down, not because she gained insight and compassion but because she felt ganged up on.

Nancy, that was Super Bowl XX January 26, 1986 when the Bears beat the New England Patriots. I wasn’t into spectator sports back then so I’m like one of 10 people in Chicago who didn’t watch it. As my punishment I became a die hard Bears fan as they team started to stink in the mid 90s. oh well.

Football might be losing popularity but it’s not because of the kneeling although that is how they are trying to spin it. It’s more a combination of many little things adding up. The TV blackouts. The kickoff being moved so that most kicks are touchbacks. The complexity of the catch rule. The public subsidies for stadiums no one wants, the inconsistent punishments (we won’t suspend you for punching your girlfriend unless we see a video but PED or not wearing NFL endorsed clothes, fines and punishments fly). Eventually it all catches up with you.

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Jeff Borden said on January 21, 2018 at 11:17 am

We were part of the Chicago march. It was great. Such a diverse collection of people of all ages, genders, races, etc. What was really cool was the large number of high school aged girls in the march. I also loved how the city dealt with the march. The CTA and Metra added extra trains and buses to facilitate the use of public transit. The cops were very mellow and hands offish. There were monitors with bullhorns to keep the march on point. I was impressed. It’s a long time until November and dog knows how many fresh scandals and jaw-dropping stupidity will be on display beforehand, each replacing the latest outrage from this corrupt administration. We don’t know the extent to which gerrymandering and voter suppression will play a part in GOP controlled states. But man, this does feel like a real movement.

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Jolene said on January 21, 2018 at 12:01 pm

Icarus, in addition to your list of reasons not to watch football, there’s the growing evidence and awareness of that evidence re what the game does to the players. I don’t know numbers, but there are some former fans who’ve decided they no longer want to play a role in the damage to players’ brains and bodies that the game produces.

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Peter said on January 21, 2018 at 12:02 pm

I have a friend whose Aunt was named after a courtesan her dad knew during the war.

I take my Dad to a swimming pool on Saturday mornings to work on the limbs and then to soak in the whirlpool while there’s an aquatics exercise class for the older ladies. There’s usually 40-50 women in the class but yesterday there were only a few – we found out the rest of them went to the March.

They were all in their 60’s and 70’s, and this is a solidly republican suburb.

If this holds up until November, 45’s head may implode.

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Jolene said on January 21, 2018 at 12:09 pm

But man, this does feel like a real movement.

I agree. The numbers are very impressive. Six hundred thousand in LA, 300,000 in Chicago, 200,000. It’s also very impressive how many marches occurred in smaller cities: Fargo, ND; Bend, OR; Asheville, NC, and many others.

Of course, there are divisions. Apparently, some people think the marches are too focused on electing Democrats, but I think that is a strength.

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Suzanne said on January 21, 2018 at 12:35 pm

Icarus @ 45. I agree with your football assessment. I used to watch some. I have a copy of the Bears’ Super Bowl Shuffle and watched them religiously that season. But now, I am sick of the owners demanding more & more money for newer & better stadiums & moving their teams every few years when a city gives them a better deal, the criminal element among the player to whom nothing happens because he’s a really good player, and, like Jolene, don’t enjoy watching men give themselves brain damage.

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Deborah said on January 21, 2018 at 12:57 pm

We went to a dinner at a friends house last evening, every one of the 16 people there all attended the march, all over 60. Of course these were mostly lefty academic types, some had been part of the Dem national convention protest in Chicago in 68. It was a lively evening. After the dinner we all went to a play called “Boy” based on the true case of the twin boys who when circumcised, one had his penis destroyed by the procedure so his parents and Dr decided to turn him into a girl. It did not work. It was interesting because the main character was played by a transgender man who was referred to in the playbill description of the cast as “them”. After the play we all returned to the host’s house for dessert and discussion. One of the guest who teaches writing said that she is required to ask her students what pronoun they prefer to be addressed by and she said that she usually has one or two that request “them”. Times are changing. I enjoyed the play, by the way.

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Jakash said on January 21, 2018 at 1:59 pm

I enjoyed the reports of the signs seen at yesterday’s march. Here’s one I saw on Twitter:

“I am no longer accepting the things I can’t change, I am changing the things I can’t accept.”

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Julie Robinson said on January 21, 2018 at 2:16 pm

A friend posted a sign held by a toddler in a stroller: I love naps, but I’m staying Woke.

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Deborah said on January 21, 2018 at 3:46 pm

I just remembered one of the chants that the crowd yelled while we were marching towards the Federal center plaza: We need a leader not a creepy tweeter.